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I'm going the route of a pipe for bending my sides, and I'm wondering if
anyone has any tips for how to put it together.

For the pipe, I've got a 2"x8" steel nipple and a flange. I'll heat it with a
plain old propane torch.

I'm thinking about cutting a 2" hole in a piece of plywood, and then
bolting the flange to that. I'd mount that to a cradle that holds the torch.

One thought I had was instead of bolting the flange directly to the
plywood, I could put nuts as standoffs between the flange and the
plywood. Is that necessary? My fear is that the flange would get hot
enough to approach the flashpoint of the plywood.

I've heard of people stuffing steel wool in the open end of the pipe, so I'm
planning on doing that.

Also, any practical tips like where to position the flame - should the tip of
the torch be actually *inside* the pipe, or right at the opening of the pipe
or slightly behind?

Thanks for any advice,

Jay

Jay, I went the same route, 2"x8" pipe, flange and cap. But I used a ceramic lamp holder and a 150 watt lamp, hologen if I remember. I can't say aynthing bad about the propane, but the lamp is consistent and you could put it on both a dimmer and a timer. It was easy to make and gets hottttt.
Just my 2 cents. If you are interested in this method I could post a couple photos so you could see what parts I used.
Mike

Mount your pipe several inches above your bench so that your torch sets semi vertical. I've found that with a full propane bottle that the torch will extinguish its self at exactly the wrong time if it lays flat. as far as putting the flange on standoffs, it can't hurt anything , but I just clamp mine directly to its wood base and have had no problems. Until recently I did all my bending with a fox style bender, but I have found that difficult woods seem to bend better by hand.

Al

[QUOTE=mikev]I used a ceramic lamp holder and a 150 watt lamp,
hologen if I remember. ... If you are interested in this method I could
post a couple photos so you could see what parts I used.
[/QUOTE]

Some photos would be really helpful. I thought about using some sort of
electric heating element, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. Seems
that if you use a lamp, it has to be slender enough to fit inside the pipe.

Mikev,

I would be interested in seeing your homemade bender as well as how its
assembled. All the luthier houses fetch a pretty penny for their pre-
assembled irons, I was wondering if that'd be something else I'd like to
tackle myself, and I'm more interested in an electric variety.

Thanks

Jay,

I hope you're not using galvanized pipe, as it is toxic when heated. Just a heads up.

_________________
now known around here as Pat Foster
_________________
http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Wrap it in heavy duty aluminum foil...

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

[QUOTE=burbank] I hope you're not using galvanized pipe, as it is toxic
when heated. Just a heads up.[/QUOTE]

Actually I am - seems that every picture I've seen of home-made bending
pipes have shown galvanized steel. I thought about going with black iron
pipe, but couldn't find anything larger than 1.25" diameter.

Do you have any source that talks about galvanized coating becoming
toxic at the temperatures we're talking about (I presume 200-300 deg F).

What material are other people's pipes made of?

Jay

Jay,
Here is a shot of one I used for years. It is just a pipe mounted on some legs. It has a door cut in the bottom that controls the air flow through the pipe. I clamp it to a bench, fill it with charcoal and in about 15 minutes it is ready to go. It doesn't have the convenience of propane and you need to work outside but other than that it is great.

Jay,
I have a chunk of aluminum tubing (9" long 1 7/8" dia 3/16" wall) that you can have if you want it. Just PM your address and I'll ship it off parcel post.
(just paying it forward)   

Hey Jay,
Im building a bender too. I just went down to my local muffler shop and picked up a piece of 4", 3", & 2" new exhaust pipe. Actually they were cut offs and got them for nothing. Cleaned them up and ovaled the 4 & the 3. They work. I'm a little worried about galvanized pipe too. Know of a guy back home that was welding on it and almost died.
David

Fumes from galvanized metal at welding temperatures are nothing to fool around with. I've seen several freinds very sick from exposure while welding support brackets for electrical equipment, and the stuff stays in your body so that subsequent exposure is even worse.
However, I don't know at what temperature this becomes a problem. Lead starts fuming around 600 degrees, and i would expect zinc to be higher. If someone knows, a post from them would be appreciated.
I have a feeling that we are working in the safe range, but I would like to know for sure.

Al

Jay, rather than use a propane torch you could use:
1) Charcoal Barbeque -- heating element; or
2) Heat Gun

I use a hot pipe for bending cutaways on figured maple and find the heat gun generates sufficient heat. Strikes me as a bit safer than a propane torch.

Thanks Todd.

Al

been away since yesterday, I will post photos first thing in the morning..
Mike

heres some photos of my pipe bender, I doubt I spent $20 bucks on it.



its 2X8 pipe nipple with a flange mounted to a piece of scrap ply, was a cutoff from a form. Doubt it needs to be so thick, but it was just laying around.



Shot of the ceramic socket, mounted on brass hollow threaded insert w/2 brass nuts to secure it. And a 150w lamp. I believe they were available from 75 to 250w.



shot of the lamp specs





just the fit of lamp to pipe.
I'm not sure how hot it gets, but water dances on the surface, and I have bent 1/8th inch maple on it. Of course you could get more high tech with a dimmer and a temp probe.
Hope this helps.
Mike

That's exactly the tip i was looking for Mike, since i have no windows in my shop, the fumes of a torch were discarded but this is just plain brilliant! Thanks for the tip!

Serge

The luthier I work with down here, Sergio Zepeda, uses two heating elements from an old toaster oven!

Andrew Wright
Managua, Nicaragua

I have also heard of useing one of those electric charcoal starters. Probably a lot of things will work, mine is only 150 watts, I give it 5 minutes or so to preheat. So you don't need too much power..

Anyone have a definitive bit of advice on a long(8-10 inch)2 1/2 inch max width heating element? I'd rather use something like that than a torch on my pipe bender.

A reminder to anyone considering using charcoal as a bending pipe heat source: ONLY USE CHARCOAL OUTSIDE!!! The fumes are toxic, and it seems like once a year or so I read or hear about someone (or some family!) who died from burning charcoal indoors. Don't do it!!!

mike t, as I stated, my heat source is only 150 watts. It is in an 8 inch long pipe. Since yours is similiar but slightly wider why not go the same route with a 200 watt lamp. Also Andrew mentioned he knows a luthier that uses 2 elements from a toaster oven. I bet they are about the right lenght and 1 will be 350 to 500 watts. Depending on the oven. Since these are all homebrews you will have to adapt. I brew beer too so I had to say it like that. I also believe the charcoal STARTER is about 8-10 inches long and will fit in a 2.5 inch pipe, again it will need some sort of control because it will be very high wattage..

[QUOTE=mikev] the charcoal STARTER is about 8-10 inches long [/QUOTE]
Mike...yep, I knew you had written "starter" in your post (if the above was in response to my "charcoal" post). My comment was prompted by Robbie's post about using his charcoal-fired pipe; and, though he DID mention that he only uses it outdoors, it's easy for folks to miss or forget that important detail. Just thought I'd reinforce it for those who wish to keep breathing.

hey carlton, when I first read your post I had to go back and read mine, but after I read mine I knew you had to have seen that it said "starter". I just thought it would be a good idea to support your statement. Your comment was a very good idea to remind everyone.I hope you understand what I just said, 'cause it confused me.
Mike

[QUOTE=ecklesweb] I'm going the route of a pipe for bending my sides, and I'm wondering if
anyone has any tips for how to put it together.

For the pipe, I've got a 2"x8" steel nipple and a flange. I'll heat it with a
plain old propane torch.

I'm thinking about cutting a 2" hole in a piece of plywood, and then
bolting the flange to that. I'd mount that to a cradle that holds the torch.

One thought I had was instead of bolting the flange directly to the
plywood, I could put nuts as standoffs between the flange and the
plywood. Is that necessary? My fear is that the flange would get hot
enough to approach the flashpoint of the plywood.

I've heard of people stuffing steel wool in the open end of the pipe, so I'm
planning on doing that.

Also, any practical tips like where to position the flame - should the tip of
the torch be actually *inside* the pipe, or right at the opening of the pipe
or slightly behind?

Thanks for any advice,

Jay

[/QUOTE]


Jay,
Steel wool is flammable!!-Dont ask me how I know that!